Each week on World Music (Saturday nights from 8-10 on KSTX 89.1 FM), I take a look at celebrations happening around the world. This week we drop in on Alaska.

MOOSE DROPPING FESTIVAL

It seems that some of the best festivals events are born over alcoholic beverages at the local watering joint. So it was in 1972, when a group of lads in Talkeetna, Alaska, came up with the bright idea of making their town a tourist magnet. The answer lay all around them--moose droppings! How to best utilize nature’s bounty was obvious to them; collect the pellets, bake them until hard, varnish and number them, and drop them onto targets. At the annual Moose Dropping Festival, ballot tickets with pre-ordained numbers are sold, and winners are those whose numbered moose nugget falls closest to the target. There are a number of other competitions but by far and away nothing beats the drop off! Takes place July 13 and 14th in Talkeetna.

Incidentally, although the town has a population of only 879, it does boast a full-service NPR station, KTNA 88.9 FM. Talkeetna is widely thought to be the inspiration for the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, from the TV show “Northern Exposure.”

You can hear more about this and other celebrations happening around the world every Saturday night on World Music with Deirdre Saravia, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM.